World experience of medical tourism clusters development

Olena Mykhailiuk
PhD in Economics, Associate Professor of Tourism and Hotel and Restaurant Business Department, Odessa National Economic University, Ukraine, e-mail: elen.mih.555@gmail.com, ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4857-4129

Iryna Ukhlicheva
PhD in Economics, Associate Professor of Tourism and Hotel and Restaurant Business Department, Odessa National Economic University, Ukraine, e-mail: sirena7306@gmail.com, ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6762-4649

Cite this article:

Mykhailiuk, O., Ukhlicheva, I. (2019). World experience of medical tourism clusters development. Ed.: M. Zvieriakov (ed.-in-ch.) and others [Svitovyi dosvid rozvytku klasteriv medychnoho turyzmu; za red.: М. I. Zvieriakova (gol. red.) ta in.], Socio-economic research bulletin; Vìsnik socìal’no-ekonomìčnih doslìdžen’ (ISSN 2313-4569), Odessa National Economic University, Odessa, No. 2-3 (70-71), pp. 40-52.

Abstract

The article considers the world experience of medical tourism clusters creation and development. An important component of medical tourism clusters development is promotion of clusters at the international level, advertising, scientific and medical cooperation, various segments of services consumers attracting, etc. The stages of national programs development in the medical tourism sphere in Israel, Germany, Turkey, Singapore, India, Thailand and other countries, which annually invest millions of dollars in the medical infrastructure development, the purchase of the latest diagnostic equipment, and innovative treatment technologies implementation, are investigated. The best examples of experience in the medical tourism development are summarized; models of medical tourism clusters creating in leading countries, mechanisms for creating, specializing and developing medical tourism clusters in the world for the subsequent use of this experience in the medical tourism clusters creation and development in Ukraine are investigated. World tendencies are analyzed regarding an increase in the supply of additional services, an increase in the level of a medical and diagnostic scientific base, including due to the creation of medical tourism clusters in which these components are successfully combined. The world trends of increasing the supply of additional services, the level of medical and diagnostic scientific base increasing, including through the medical tourism clusters creation, in which these components are successfully combined, are analyzed. The further implementation of public-private partnerships experience in tourism and medical sectors of Ukraine is proposed. These mechanisms will allow the medical institutions to gain more economic freedom and tools for improving of their services quality. Thus, clinics will have the opportunity to raise the comfort of staying in medical institutions to a higher level, to improve the transportation services, purchase modern equipment, and train medical personnel of the highest professional level, etc.

Keywords

public-private partnership; medical tourism; cluster policy; clustering; health care.

JEL classification: Z320; DOI: https://doi.org/10.33987/vsed.2-3(70-71).2019.40-52

UD classification: 338.48:615.8:061(15)

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

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